Equality and diversity

Action for Children is committed to promoting equality, valuing diversity and working inclusively in all our planning and operations.

We uphold these principles in everything that we do and this helps to define our actions, behaviours and practices - as an employer, service provider, and campaigning organisation.

Our scheme

This scheme sets out a framework for action we are taking to help show those who use and commission our services how we meet the needs of the diverse communities we work within, and how we will reach our goal of being an employer of choice.

• Our equality scheme
• Gweithredu dros Blant Cynllun cydraddoldeb (Welsh language version)

Our commitment

We believe that having a workforce with a rich mix of backgrounds, knowledge, abilities and skills enhances our ability to deliver high quality services to the broadest range of children, young people and families.

• Our promise to staff and volunteers

The seven strands

We use the Equality and Human Rights Commission's seven strands to help focus our equality and diversity work. In Northern Ireland we also recognise the strand of community background. These strands are not comprehensive and we recognise that people can be discriminated against in other ways too. However, they give us a strong foundation to build upon.

Stonewall Diversity Champions

As part of Action for Children's committed to promoting lesbian, gay and bisexual equality and inclusion, we participate in Stonewall's Diversity Champion and Workplace Equality Index programmes. The Diversity Champions programme provides our organisation with a range of good practice resources and information, as well as networking and training and development opportunities. We also have an annual profile in the Stonewall Recruitment Guide.

The Workplace Equality Index enables us to benchmark our performance and practice in promoting and managing LGB equality and inclusion and has helped us to ensure that we build an  sustain an inclusive organisation for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff, volunteers and service users.

The Network for Black Professionals

We are committed to promoting race equality and inclusion across the organisation and have a corporate membership to The Network for Black Professionals (NBP). NBP is a social justice, not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting BME professionals to achieve their full career and civic potential. It works in partnership with progressive employers, government and community organisations.